A connection between solar activity and decadal Length of day variations is investigated. Statistical comparison of Length of day with various geomagnetic and Solar activity indices has been done for the last 140 years. A jump in Length of day (LOD) is found at the moment of the geomagnetic storm, the largest one for the last few decades, that happened in late October 2003, the so called Halloween storm. This change in rotational velocity of the Earth can not be explained by any known atmospheric or oceanic influences. Moreover, such jump in LOD is an unique one for the few recent years. It is supposed that this jump can be caused by transfer of angular momentum between Solar wind and the solid Earth. A possible mechanism of such a transfer is proposed.
The extreme acceleration of the Earth rotation observed in the summer of 2020 is considered. It is concluded that this phenomenon is a consequence of two factors: the longterm acceleration of the Earth rotation, which has been observed since the 1970s, and the extremely strong meteorological excitation of the LOD, which took place in the summer of 2020. The coincidence of the anomaly of the AAM and the geomagnetic Dst index, as well as the correlation between the LOD on the one hand and the solar wind speed and the Gaussian coefficients of the expansion of the Earth’s magnetic field, on the other, are noted. The problem of negative leap second is considered. Preliminary estimates have been made of introduction of a negative leap second, if the current trends in the behavior of UT1-UTC continue. The conclusion is made about the low probability of such an event.
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